


Three Words (That became hard to say)

by LadyOrion



Series: Only You and I [9]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: (No longer a) Secret Relationship, Captain Hook is...improving, Coming Out, Explicit Language, I Swear A Lot, If you couldn't tell from my tags, Jafar's a shitty father, M/M, Post-Descendants 3, So does family sometimes, The Isle Fucks You Up, everyone needs counseling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2020-10-25 02:07:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20716322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyOrion/pseuds/LadyOrion
Summary: It had all started with a off-handed question from Audrey.xIn which Harry realizes that none of their friends actually know he and Jay are dating, because they don't ever act like a couple with anyone else around. This sparks the realization that he and Jay are still acting like they're on the Isle, and the couple begin to try and let go of their old, secretive habits.xTitle from: "I and Love and You" by The Avett Brothers. Also, /please read the notes/, so you know where I see these characters in their lives. Or else you will probably be confused.





	1. Old Habits Die Hard

**Author's Note:**

> When the Rotten 4 came to Auradon, Jay was 17, Mal and Evie were 16, and Carlos was 15. Now, all a year older, Jay has graduated high school, and while he was originally planning to take a gap year, he was offered a huge Tourney scholarship to UCA (University of Central Auradon) and is now an undecided major playing on the team. Mal decided not to return to Auradon Prep for her senior year, instead focusing on ruling Auradon with Ben (who graduated a year early). Evie also decided not to return, and is taking some classes online to focus more on her business. Doug, Carlos, Jane, and Lonnie will be returning to Auradon Prep as seniors. Carlos should technically be going into junior year, but since he’s such a smarty, he’s on a fast track to graduate a year early. Audrey is 17 but graduated a year early (summer school will do that for you) and is attending UCA with Jay, and is currently majoring in architecture. 
> 
> None of the Sea Three will be attending Auradon Prep. Harry and Gil technically managed to graduate from Serpent Prep. Since Uma misses the last few months of school, she did not finish her last year of high school, but doesn’t plan to. She’s working as one of Ben and Mal’s foremost royal advisors. Harry and Gil are both taking ”gap years”, which is basically some mild online schooling because they don’t have a lot of the classes completed that Auradon curriculum requires. 
> 
> Chad has graduated and is off being a twat somewhere, far away from me and my story.

It had all started with a off-handed question from Audrey.   
  
“So wait,” she said in an undertone, as she and Harry ate lunch at the princess’s favorite cafe downtown, which she’d been insisting they go try for a couple weeks. “Are you and Jay hooking up? You know, like, friends with benefits?”

Harry, to his credit, managed not to choke on his bite of food, though it was a very near thing. “What?” he asked, incredulous.

“Are you two hooking up?” Audrey repeated simply, not easily swayed. She reminded him of Uma like that sometimes, though Audrey had a tendency to sweet-talk someone, probing gently at first. Uma, on the other hand, was about as subtle as a fist to the face. It was one of the things Harry liked best about her. “Having sex? Are you not?”

Harry couldn’t see himself, but he was certain his face was beginning to flush red. “Yeah, I understand what you’re askin’,” Harry said, without moving to confirm or deny her (completely true) assumptions. Well, almost completely true. He and Jay weren’t “friends” with benefits. Jay was officially his boyfriend, which came with some admittedly _ amazing _ benefits. His chest warmed at the thought of his boyfriend (his _ boyfriend! _ He could _ finally _ say it), causing his lips to quirk in a tiny smile. 

“Oh my gods, you are,” Audrey exclaimed, grinning widely. “I thought something seemed different with you two!”

“We aren’t,” Harry denied. “Well, not exactly. Me and Jay are datin’.”

The princess raised her eyebrows, eyes going a bit wide. “Wait. Really? Like, actually dating?” 

She seemed so genuinely surprised; Harry was taken aback. 

“Yeah,” he said cooly, feeling defensive. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing,” she said, lifting a hand in a surrendering gesture. “I...I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

Audrey sighed, looking a little reluctant but continuing: “You two just...don’t really act like a couple. I didn’t really even think you two were actually friends.”

Harry blinked, the first flames of hostility extinguished by confusion. Whatever he’d been expecting, it hadn’t been that. Surely that couldn’t be right. Of course he and Jay acted like a couple. They went out on dates and held hands and made out and ridiculed each other mercilessly. How on earth did they “not act like a couple”?

“Well, I’m not saying there’s one right way to ‘act like’ a couple,” Audrey started by saying, when Harry asked her this. “I mean, Mal and Ben act nothing like Doug and Evie, or Carlos and Jane. But it’s not that you and Jay don’t hold hands or kiss or whatever. You don’t sit together, and you barely talk to or look at each other. You don’t really interact with each other at all.”

“That’s not tru-” Harry cut himself off, thinking back to a couple nights ago, when their now combined friend group had their bi-monthly game and/or movie night at Mal and Ben’s castle. He’d talked to Audrey and Carlos during dinner, teamed up with Lonnie for their game, and sprawled between Uma and Gil during the movie. He skimmed his memory of that night, trying to remember an instance that he and Jay had done anything couple-y, or even spoken to each other at all. Frowning, he realized he couldn’t. 

But that couldn’t be right. Things were going fantastic with Jay. They were happy, they were in love. Why did they not acknowledge each other around their friends? Even more, why did neither of them notice before this? Suddenly, the realization dawned on him. “Shit, it’s like we’re still on the Isle.”

“Uh...what?” Audrey asked, confused. Harry scratched his nails against the table, wondering if he wanted to share this part of his past with Audrey. In the almost two months since he’d come to Auradon, he and Audrey had become pretty good friends. She’d shared plenty with him; he figured it was about time he started doing the same.

“Jay and I first got together when we were 16,” Harry started, and Audrey listened attentively, eyes widening slightly. “We were together for over a year, until he left for Auradon. We broke up because of it; and our relationship really went to shit. It hurt us both really badly. We just got back together a bit over a month ago.”

“Oh, wow,” Audrey said. “I never would have guessed. Is your relationship...are you two struggling?”

Harry shook his head. “Not at all. We’re doin’ great, actually. It’s the Isle. On the Isle, we couldn’t be together, officially. We were in rival gangs, and the Isle is just a really dangerous place for love. Or, was, I guess. It’s been gettin’ so much better since the barrier came down. My point is, Jay and I had to act like we hated each other when everyone else was around. We could only be ourselves in private.”

Audrey’s eyes lit with understanding. “Oh. You two are so used to hiding your relationship...you don’t really know anything else.” Harry nodded in confirmation. Audrey was quiet for a moment, reaching out to put a hand lightly over Harry’s. “I’m sorry, Harry.”

Harry shrugged, pulling off nonchalance with practiced ease. “It’s fine. Just, don’t tell anyone, about Jay and me.” Immediately after the words left his mouth, he paused, shoulders dropping. “See, I don’t even know why I said that. We’re not hiding that we’re a couple, or, we’re not trying to. So why would I say that?” he heaved a heavy sigh. “I always dreamed of bein’ here, and part of it was so I could love whoever I wanted, freely. But now that I’m here...I don’t even know how.”

Audrey squeezed his hand reassuringly, smiling encouragingly. “You two will figure it out. Just, talk to him about it. Also, consider telling everyone,” she said, referring to their friend group. “Maybe if you tell everyone outright, you won’t subconsciously try to hide it.”

“Maybe,” Harry said, still feeling mildly sullen. 

Giving him a sympathetic look, she held up the menu. “Come on, let's order some dessert. What are you in the mood for? And don't say Rocky Road ice cream. Everyone knows cookie dough is superior.”

“Do ya have time to be told how wrong you are?”

“Absolutely not.”

———

Jay threw his wallet on the kitchen island when he walked through the door. It was well into the evening, almost 9, and Evie’s house was quiet. It had been much less busy since summer ended a couple weeks ago. Carlos was back in the dorms, as were Celia, Dizzy, and the twins, effectively cutting the occupancy of the house in half. Now it was Evie, of course, as well as Jay, Harry, Gil, and Uma in the upstairs guest bedrooms.

Jay kicked off his boots and began to rummage through the pantry, looking for a suitable snack. He’d been on a health kick recently for Tourney, but was really craving something artificial with way too much sugar. 

“Hey Jay,” a voice said, and Doug entered the kitchen from the main sitting room. Also, the direction of Evie’s room, Jay noted with amusement. 

“Hey man,” Jay said, raising an eyebrow. Doug was neat and composed as usual, but his shirt collar veered just so much to the left that Jay could see a dark, obvious mark at the junction of his neck and shoulder. Doug noticed Jay’s gaze, righting his collar with a blush. “Shouldn’t you be at school like a good student?”

“I’m a senior, I can leave campus whenever I want,” Doug pointed out. “I don’t technically even have to live there anymore.”

“You basically don’t,” Jay countered, and it was true. Though technically he didn’t live in Evie’s house with them, Doug was there almost as often as Jay was. 

“The food’s better here,” Doug defended, reaching around Jay to grab a packet of pop-tarts. “Plus, Carlos broke the wifi in our room a few days ago. He was trying to make it work faster.”

“And does it work faster now?” Jay asked. Carlos was a genius; his inventions almost never failed. 

“It does,” Doug admitted. “We probably have the best wifi in the school. But only after bringing it down for almost two days.” 

“That’s Carlos for you,” Jay said. Resisting the package of coconut cookies begging for his attention was a struggle, but he managed to turn away from the pantry and get apple slices from the refrigerator instead. _ Being healthy sucks _, he thought to himself as he grabbed the bowl and biting into one of the slices with more force than strictly necessary.

“Hey, cool braid. Did you do that yourself?” Doug said when Jay was facing away from him. Jay brought a hand to his head, tracing over the tightly woven, intricate design that had managed to survive the whole day. He’d almost been late to class with how long it took Harry to do, but it was totally worth it.

“Thanks,” he said, popping the other half of an apple slice in his mouth. “And no, someone else did it for me. I can only do the regular braid.” Doug picked his keys up off the counter, and Jay was reminded of something. “Oh, thanks for letting me borrow your car a few weeks ago. I don’t think I ever thanked you personally.”

“Yeah, no problem man,” Doug said with a friendly smile. “Sorry it didn’t work out though.”

Jay frowned. “Huh?”

“Oh, sorry,” Doug said. “You just never mentioned going out with...actually, I don’t think I ever got a name. Anyway, you never mentioned whoever it was again, so I just assumed it didn’t go well.”

Jay shook his head. “No, it went great. We’re dating now.” 

Doug grinned. “Hey, good for you! You should bring them to our next movie night; I’d love to meet them. Anyway, I better head back to the dorm. See you!”

“Yeah,” Jay said, mostly to himself, as Doug was already out the door. “See you.”

Well, that was weird. Did Doug really not know? _ He must have forgotten, _ Jay figured, finishing off his snack. _ Or was joking. Obviously I told him who I was dating. _

Putting the empty bowl in the sink, Jay walked up the stairs and into his room. His body ached from rigorous Tourney practice at UCA, as well as walking around town all day after college hunting for an apartment. He closed the door behind him, ready to collapse in his bed, when he noticed the light coming from under his bathroom door. 

Only one person other than Jay ever used his bathroom. _ Probably Harry taking a bath _, Jay thought. Jay smiled to himself as he twisted the knob, not surprised to find it unlocked. 

“Hey gorgeous,” Harry said as Jay walked into the bathroom. The pirate was, as Jay had suspected, lounging in the large bathtub, which was almost overflowing with water. Harry reaches out a dripping hand, pulling Jay down to his level for a kiss. “How was apartment huntin’?”

Jay groaned, sitting down on the bathroom rug. Harry sat up more, resting his arms on the side of the bathtub, chin resting on his forearms. “Ugh, terrible. It’s so much work, especially after coming from a full day of class and tourney practice. I swear Coach is trying to kill us.”

“Poor dear,” Harry drawled, sounding an odd mix of sarcastic and sincere only Harry could pull off. He beckoned Jay. “Come on, join me.”

Jay eyed the water level skeptically. “The water will definitely overflow if I get in with you.”

“Who cares?” Harry dismissed, and Jay shrugged. 

Jay stripped off his clothes, tossing them carelessly aside. Harry shifted, sitting up and allowing Jay to sit between his legs, leaning his back against Harry’s chest. The water rose a few more inches, splashing over the bathroom floor. Jay hummed appreciatively at the sensation of warm water in his sore muscles. From behind him, Harry began to unravel Jay’s hair from it’s braid, brushing it out with wet fingers.

“I went to lunch with Audrey today,” Harry said, pulling Jay’s head back to unbraid the hair on his scalp.

“Yeah? How was it?”

Harry was quiet for a long moment. Jay was just about to sit up and face him when he said, “Do ya think we act like a couple?”

“What?” Jay sat up, splashing even more water on the floor as he turned around so he could face Harry. “What do you mean? Did Audrey say something?”

“Kind of, but it’s not like ya think,” Harry replied, seeing the defensiveness flash in Jay’s face. “She asked me if we were hookin’ up, and I told her we’re dating. She was supportive, but…”

“But what?”

“But she pointed out that we don’t really act like a couple around other people,” Harry said, frowning. “She didn’t even realize we were friends ‘cause we barely talk to each other around everyone. And I think she’s right. I mean, remember our last movie night?”

Jay opened his mouth to protest, but paused, thinking back. Of course he’d talked to Harry that night...hadn’t he? Why on earth would he not have even interacted with his boyfriend that whole night? 

Then, he remembered the conversation he’d just had with Doug. Had he really not told Doug he was going on a date with Harry? Did he really never mention anything about them again, not even that they were dating? He was sure he had, but now that he was thinking about all these things, he found he couldn’t remember ever doing them.

“Jay?” Harry’s voice brought him back to the present. The pirate was frowning, his eyes creased in thinly veiled worry. Jay sighed internally, knowing that no matter how much Harry pretended he didn’t, he still harbored an anxiety when it came to their relationship, about Jay leaving. 

Jay remembered the first time they’d had a real argument since getting back together; Harry had suddenly freaked out. They used to argue pretty frequently; it was inevitable with two strong-willed people with lots of pride, but it had never been much of an issue. They got over it quickly and everything was fine again. This time, however, Harry had panicked once things calmed down, and despite Jay’s reassurance that everything was still okay between them, Harry was on edge and anxious for the rest of the day. It made Jay feel terribly guilty, but it was just something they had to work on. Something that would only improve with time and communication. 

They were still working on the ‘communication’ part.

“Sorry,” Jay said, resting a hand on Harry’s knee beneath the water. “Just thinking. I don’t...why would we be doing that? I haven’t been doing it on purpose, I swear.”

Harry shook his head earnestly. “I haven’t either. I was thinkin’...it’s the Isle. We always had to keep us a secret.”

“But we don’t have to do that now.”

“No, we don’t. But it’s a habit.” Harry ran a hand through his hair, sinking lower in the bathtub until the water almost rose to his jaw. “Remember when we would have to be against each other in turf fights? Or even when we’d see each other with other members of a gang around?”

“We’d pretend to hate each other,” Jay finished. “We’d barely look at each other, or talk, and if we did, it was always insults.”

Harry nodded. “Right. I think we kinda trained ourselves to do that. Now that everyone’s friendly, we don’t insult each other--”

“But we still don’t interact,” Jay said, the pieces finally clicking in place in his head. “Damn, how did we not see this?”

Harry shrugged. He shifted so he was sitting upright again, stretching his arms and making grabby hands. Jay laughed despite himself, returning to his original position of laying back against Harry’s chest. Harry wrapped his arms around Jay’s torso, burying his face in Jay’s neck from behind.

“Audrey thinks we should tell everybody directly,” Harry said, slightly muffled by Jay’s shoulder. “Thinks it might help us open up more.”

“Do you agree with that?” Jay asked, curious. He felt Harry shrug again.

“Maybe. Honestly I think we need to just be more aware of it. But it would probably be good to do anyway.”

“Yeah, probably.” Jay remembered something Doug said. “How about next movie night? We could tell everyone then; get all of it out of the way at one time.”

“Yeah,” Harry said, running his hands lightly up and down Jay’s sides and arms. “Good idea.”

Jay made a noise of acknowledgement, and they sat quietly for a few moments. Harry’s hands continued to roam, getting bolder and more obvious with every second. Jay smirked, skin heating up in a way that had nothing to do with the bathwater.

“Trying to start something?” Jay murmured, leaning his head back look at Harry. The pirate’s blue eyes were glinting. 

“Ya know me,” Harry purred, hand dipping lower still. “Aren’t I always?”

“Better hurry up,” Jay said, reaching back to wrap a hand around the back of Harry’s neck. He pulled his boyfriend forward into a kiss. “The water won’t be warm forever.”

Harry smirked against Jay’s lips. 

The water was cold by the time they got out. _ Totally worth it. _


	2. Four Hooks

The sails of the Jolly Roger fluttered high over the docks of Pirate’s Bay. Each creak and shift of the rickety boards beneath his feet was familiar, and he skipped over the weak ones that threatened to break without a second thought. It’d been just under three months since he was back here, but it felt like an instant and a lifetime simultaneously. It was a breath of comforting familiarity, but it also made his hackles rise, learned paranoia of youth plaguing him with every step. Though every step screamed confidence, he kept his head on a subtle swivel, sharp eyes searching for danger everywhere. 

Harry told himself this was unnecessary. Since the barrier had fallen, the Isle was improving at amazing rates. Every resident was granted a pardon for any past crimes, and offered a chance at a new life. Inhabitants were free to leave the Isle if they chose, but resources had also been allocated to reviving the place Harry had spent his whole life up until that summer. Food shipments had tripled, providing more than enough food for everyone. The polluted streets had been cleaned, and with the permanently overcast sky gone, the sunlight-deprived earth was beginning to flourish again. The cramped and dilapidated infrastructure was being checked over for safety and stability street by street, fixing what could be fixed and rebuilding what could not. 

It was slow going, but it  _ was  _ going. In time, the Isle of the Lost would be completely restored.

Of course, it hadn’t all been smooth sailing. Mal, Uma, and Ben had been busting their asses almost non-stop, trying to reintegrate two societies with decades of bad blood between them as smoothly as possible. 

And of course, not every villain had accepted their second chance so readily. However, the power and influence of villains such as Hades, Ursula, Gaston, and the Evil Queen had managed to subdue the unrest of their fellow villains. Mostly. The Queen of Hearts, Claude Frollo, Governor Ratcliffe, and Cruella de Vil had all still refused the offering of peace, and were currently on house arrest while it was decided what should be done with them. Alternate prisons had been constructed just in case, but ones that ran on courts and parole and rehabilitation, rather than immovable life sentences for the convicted as well as all their descendants. 

Thankfully, Harry thought to himself as he walked up a flight of rickety stairs, his own father had accepted his pardon and promised a future of non-violence. Reaching the top of the stairs, Harry tread a rocky path to a secluded house nestled in the cliffs, reflecting on the past couple weeks.

True to plan, Harry and Jay had broken the news about their relationship at the next movie night.

They started slow, sitting next to each other as everyone ate a late dinner. The group as a whole then chose to forgo a game; Mal, Ben, and Uma’s council meeting had run long, meaning they had to start later than normal. Instead, they skipped right to the movie, and after a lengthy debate, agreed to Lonnie’s suggestion: How To Train Your Dragon.

“We’ve already watched it twice before!” Doug had complained, pulling up the movie with record slowness. He just wanted to watch The Dark Crystal. Was that too much to ask? 

“Because it’s a masterpiece!” Lonnie insisted, snatching the remote and bringing up the movie herself, pressing play as Carlos and Gil whooped in agreement.

As the beginning music of the movie played, Jay sat down in front of Harry on the floor, leaning his back against Harry’s knees. His hair fell over the pirate’s lap, and Jay ignored the questioning glances from their friends. As he’d done many times when they were alone, but never in front of people, Harry gathered strands of Jay’s long, dark hair between his fingers, beginning to braid them together in whatever new design he’d come up with now. Jay hummed comfortably, and Harry barely focused on the movie as he paid attention to the movements of his fingers. When he was done, several twisting smaller braids combining into one large braid Harry twisted and pinned, he pulled Jay up to on the couch next to him. Jay took it a step further, pushing under Harry’s arm and leaning into his side.

No one said a word until the movie was finished, and Jay had promptly cut off any questions before they could begin, saying simply: “Harry and I are back together now. Have been for a while.”

Evie and Uma had already known, of course. Though neither Harry nor Jay had mentioned anything to either of them after their first date, both women were a bit more in tune to the actions and emotions of those around them. Carlos and Gil had also suspected, what with living in the same house as them. Mal hadn’t known, but wasn’t surprised, congratulating them smoothly.

Their friends from Auradon had required a bit more explanation, and Harry and Jay took turns telling the story quickly, leaving out any details that just felt too personal to share right then. 

“I had wondered,” Jane said, once they were done. “After Harry woke up from the sleeping curse. I figured it must have been true love’s kiss, but you two never acted differently...I guess now we know why. But I’m really happy for you both!”

All their other friends chimed in with words of agreement, and that was that. Doug and Lonnie proceed to argue over whether to watch How to Train Your Dragon 2 or The Dark Crystal. With Carlos and Gil as backup, Lonnie was victorious, promising they could watch Doug’s choice next time. 

Back in the present, Harry lingered in front of the front door. The faded red paint was peeling, and the handle a bit rusty. He reached out to knock, then put his hand down. That would be weird, right, to knock on the front door of your own house? Well, Harry hadn’t lived there in a good, long while. Years, even. He sighed quietly, the events that brought him here flashing before his eyes.

After their mutual agreement to tell their friends about their relationship, Harry broached another idea with Jay a few days later, one he was sure Jay would like a lot less.

“I want to tell my family about us,” said Harry, nonchalantly as he was playing a video game on a handheld device while reclining in Jay’s bed. Well, really, it was his bed too at this point. He hadn’t touched his room since Gil moved into the twin’s old room. 

“What?” Jay asked, turning abruptly to stare at Harry. The former thief's surprise froze him in the midst of taking off his shirt, which Harry couldn’t say he didn’t appreciate.

“I want to tell my family about us,” Harry repeated. His voice was calm, but he paused his game, prepared for a fight. Jay had been more than happy to share their relationship with their peers in Auradon, but Harry knew that Jay tried harder to forget about the Isle than Harry did. Of course, Harry wasn’t looking for permission, not really.

Jay exhaled. He pulled his shirt the rest of the way off, tossing it over his shoulder and heading into the bathroom, closing the door behind him without a word. Harry gave an irritated huff, but wasn’t altogether surprised by the reaction. The Jay he’d dated on the Isle had a trigger-quick temper and little self control, barreling into everything without thinking. Now, when Jay was upset, he tended to take a step back, to disappear for a few minutes and come back with a more level head. While completely alien to Harry at first, he’d admittedly come to prefer it, and was working on his own temper as well. 

Harry gave Jay his space, and sure enough, Jay emerged a few minutes later, hair pulled up and smelling of toothpaste and aftershave. He sat down on the bed near Harry, legs crossed. 

“Okay.” Though Jay’s voice was carefully stoic, but the way his fingers twitched and rubbed together betrayed his emotions. Jay was...nervous? Harry hadn’t expected that. “Why...why do you want to do that?”

“Why do ya not want me to?” Harry countered.

Jay sighed. “No, it’s not...It’s not that I don’t want you to. I, ugh, I dunno. It’s stupid,” Jay muttered.

“What?”

“I...I know why you want to tell your family,” Jay said, looking away. “I know things have always been complicated--that’s just how the Isle is--but the four of you love each other.” He trailed off. Harry waited for him to continue. 

“Yeah?” Harry prodded, when Jay was still quiet. Jay groaned, throwing himself back onto his pillow. 

“I know how much you’ve always wanted your dad to be proud of you,” Jay said. “And I know that you and your sisters are trying to patch things up with each other and your dad. If things go bad, it’ll be my fault, kinda.”

Harry blinked, stunned. He shifted closer to Jay, leaning one shoulder against the headboard. “Jay, babe. I say this with love...but that’s utter bullshit.  _ Of course _ that wouldn’t be your fault. If my old man’s an asshole about it, case closed. He can get the hell out of my life. Yeah, I want to try to fix things with him, but if he can’t accept who I am and who I’m with then he can fuck off.”

Jay sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “It’s not just that. You saying that...I’ve been thinking about it too. About...about my dad.”

“About...tellin’ him?” Harry questioned, carefully. Harry’s relationship with his dad might be rocky, but he’s always known that his father loves him, deep down. Jafar, on the other hand…

Jay nodded. His stoic mask had long since fallen away. “You know I still haven’t seen him. It’s been...gods, it’s been almost a year and a half since I’ve seen him. Best fucking year of my life.” He sighed. “I guess can’t avoid him forever. But damn, I can try. But when you mentioned your family...”

“Ya can’t run from it forever,” Harry said, aiming for gentle and achieving it pretty well. Jay huffed and shifted, lifting his head from his pillow and laying it against Harry’s midsection instead. A tan, athletics-calloused hand came up to rest on Harry’s thigh, squeezing lightly and trailing further inward.

“Diversionary tactics won’t work,” Harry said, but Jay’s hot breath against his stomach and the hand massaging the inside of his thighs were pretty distracting. That was the downside of dating someone who knew you so completely: Jay always knew exactly which buttons to push.

“Are you sure?” Jay asked, lifting his head to trail his lips along the sharp edge of Harry’s collarbones. This close, Harry could only breath in the intoxicating smell of Jay’s aftershave, which always did bad fucking things to Harry’s ability to concentrate.

“Yeah.” Harry’s voice came out traitorously breathy as Jay’s hand trailed a bit higher. “I’m telling’ them. I wasn’t askin’.”

“I know you weren’t,” Jay murmured, sitting up to get a better angle against Harry’s neck. “And I wasn’t going to ask you not to. But let’s not talk about  _ my _ family.”

“They’re goin’ to find out,” Harry huffed. “Ya know how, how much of a gossip CJ is.”

Jay hummed noncommittally, as he sucked a mark beneath Harry’s jaw. Harry’s breath grew just a bit more ragged. 

“We’re still gonna talk about this,” Harry insisted. His will to have that conversation  _ now _ was slipping. He felt Jay grin against his shoulder, and suddenly Jay hooked his hands beneath Harry’s knees and  _ pulled _ . His breath rushed out of his lungs as his back hit the mattress and Jay hovered over him, dark eyes glinting.

“Talk about what?” the former thief asked, with false innocence dripping from his voice. Jay started to push himself up. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk now?”

“Damn you,” Harry cursed, yanking Jay down to finish what he started.

Harry smirked slightly at the memory. He had finally pinned Jay down (not literally, unfortunately) to have that talk, a couple days later. Jay was still reluctant to see Jafar again, but progress was made. Though Harry still thinks that Jay might be hoping Harry will drop the subject after meeting with his own family. Unfortunately for Jay, Harry thought, Harry was very stubborn.

Finally deciding to fuck knocking, Harry twisted the handle and, with some effort, pushed the door open. 

Stepping over the threshold of the house he grew up in, Harry was hit with a wave of nostalgia. A long red coat hung in the narrow entryway, several swords crammed into an umbrella holder. Passing the stairs, he took note of the wooden railing, which had chunks and dents carved out of it from him and his siblings swinging swords at it. 

He entered into the kitchen/living room. Seated at the circular table on cracked tile, drinking scotch, was a tall woman with thick black hair and a sharp face. She wore a blue uniform and heavy boots. She looked up when Harry entered the room.

“Hi Harry,” she said, halfway standing. She looked like she was unsure if she was supposed to hug him or not. “It’s been a while, little brother.”

“‘Lo, Harriet,” Harry replied, sitting down in one of the chairs next to her. Harriet settled back into her seat and clasped Harry on the shoulder. “What’s with the uniform?”

“Oh, I,” Harriet glanced over her uniform, straightening the collar. “I’m joining the Naval Academy.”

“Wait, really?” Harry asked, and his sister nodded. “That’s...awesome, actually. Was dad...how did dad react? Where is he?” 

Harriet shifted slightly. “I haven’t told him yet, actually.” she said. “And he’s picking CJ up from school.”

Harry had to fight the urge to roll his eyes, age-old bitterness welling up and threatening to choke him. “Are you kiddin’ me? She’s what, 16? She can get her own self home.”

“He’s gotten a bit...clingy,” Harriet said, frowning. “Since CJ’s moving to Auradon Prep next week, Dad’s been...he doesn’t say it, but I don’t think he wants her to go.”

“Oh, sure,” Harry muttered. “It’s a big deal when  _ CJ _ moves out. Us though?” He snorted dismissively.

“Harry, don’t be such a child,” Harriet said disapprovingly, but he suspected she was fighting off the thought herself. “We all agreed we were going to try to get over all this shit. Right?”

“Yeah.”

“Besides, you’re the middle child,” Harriet said, reaching for the bottle to pour herself more alcohol. “Being forgotten about is your birthright.”

“Bitch,” Harry said, kicking her ankle under the table. Harriet smirked. Whatever retort Harry was about to make was cut off by the heavy sound of the door opening. 

CJ was first around the corner, her golden blonde hair falling in thick waves around her face, glittering in places with shiny beads. She was shorter than Harry or Harriet, even with the heeled crocodile-skin boots she usually wore. Of all the Hook siblings, she looked the most like their mother, while Harry and Harriet both more closely resembled their father. 

Behind her was a man whose black hair was being taken over by ever increasing amounts of grey. He slouched slightly, occasionally using his sheathed sword as a cane. He rubbed the scraggly beard he sported. 

“Drinking all my scotch?” Captain Hook grumbled, taking an empty glass and pouring some for himself. “Cold, Harriet.”

“You can get more,” Harriet said dismissively, lips quirked up as she took another sip. “Or tea! They have that here now.”

“Can’t get drunk on tea,” Hook said gruffly, holding the bottle out of CJ’s reach when she grabbed for it. Harriet rolled her eyes.

“We didn’t come all the way here to get drunk with you, dad,” she said, and Hook looked up, seeming to notice for the first time that Harry was there. Harry grit his teeth in annoyance.

“Hello there, son,” his father said, and CJ nabbed the bottle from him while he was distracted. 

Harry sighed. This was going to be a long day. “Hey dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? A third chapter? Oops.
> 
> It really was going to be just two chapters, but I started writing, and just kept writing, and it got way too long. So I broke it up and the next part will be out by Friday.


	3. Four Hooks (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How I see the Hook Siblings -
> 
> Harriet - dry humor, always drinking alcohol (but is never drunk? how??), stone cold badass, could kill a man with a single stare, acts like she would sell you to satan for one corn chip but secretly cares a whole lot
> 
> Harry - chaotic boy. disaster child. loves attention, acts like a stone cold bitch but is secretly kinda soft, fears abandonment, would Die for you if you treat him good and give him chocolate
> 
> CJ - semi-bratty baby, loves love, a curious bean, So Extra, is sweet but will Fuck You Up if provoked, fashionable af

“It’s been a while,” Hook said, a bit distractedly as he held out his flesh hand. “Give me that, Calista. You’re too young to drink.”

CJ glared; this was clearly an argument they’d had before. “Why? Harry started drinking when he was 12!”

Harry shrugged, snatching the bottle from CJ when she was focused on their father. He took a swig straight from the bottle, sliding it back across the table to Hook. His little sister glared at him, sitting down with a frustrated sound.

“And what about Harriet?” CJ continued, gesturing at her sister. “She drinks so much alcohol I’m pretty sure she bleeds vodka.”

Harriet paused, her glass halfway to her lips. “I’d disagree...but you’re probably not wrong.”

CJ stared at her father, her face an odd mix of pleading and demanding. Hook sighed, pushing the bottle across the table to her with his hook. “Fine, go ahead.”

CJ grinned, getting up to grab a stray glass from the counter that looked mostly clean. She sat back down and poured herself a glass, taking a drink and only wincing slightly at the burn. 

“Say, Rie,” CJ said, turning her attention to Harriet. “What’s with the outfit?”

Glancing down over her uniform, Harriet straightened in her seat. There was an uneasy set to her shoulders, as if unsure of the response she would get when she said: “I enrolled in the Auradon Naval Academy.” 

CJ choked on her drink, sputtering a bit. “Wait, what? When did you do that?”

“A few weeks ago,” Harriet said, her tone bland but her fingers tight on her glass of scotch. “I applied shortly after the barrier came down. I got accepted.”

Harry thought that last part was rather obvious, considering her blue uniform, the white collar trimmed with gold. Auradon colors. CJ still stared, jaw a bit slack, though Harry suspected it was more due to the fact that she hadn’t known than actual disapproval of Harriet’s career choice. CJ was a gossip; she traded in information, and she liked to know everything about everybody. It made her a good source of information, but also untrustworthy. She’d tell you anything, for the right price.

“Good for you,” Hook said, nodding approvingly. “Navy’s the best career there is. Except maybe being a pirate.”

For a moment, Harriet glowed. She quickly covered it up, forcing her face back to neutrality, but Harry wasn’t fooled. He and Harriet had constantly sought their father’s approval as kids, but his attention was so rarely given. According to Harriet, though, he wasn’t always like that. Before their mother had died, Hook was an active parent, but after his wife died, he shut himself off from everyone, even his children. Harry supposed it must have stung worse to Harriet, to have her bids for attention rebuffed, since she remembered a time when it was different. But to Harry, the distant, detached version of their father was all he could really remember. 

“I guess that means you’ll be moving to Auradon?” Hook asked, and Harriet nodded. Harry thought Hook looked almost...sad.

“Aye, I will,” she said. “I’ll leave in a few days, once CJ’s settled in at Auradon Prep.”

“Hm. You’ll have to come visit your old man once in a blue moon,” Hook’s voice was tinged with bitterness, and he took a large drink of his scotch, nearly draining the glass. Harriet narrowed her eyes.

“I will,” she said. “ _ If _ you’re sober when I get here. I’m not using my limited days off to pick up after your drunk ass. That’s not my job, dad.”

Harry blinked at her hard tone.  _ Harriet really has grown up, _ Harry thought. Of course, she was three years older than Harry, now at 21 years old, but seeing her standing up to their dad like that, their age gap felt so much wider. Harry might complain until he was blue in the face about his father’s behavior when the man wasn’t around, but he’d never say anything to his face. There was a time when Harriet wouldn’t have dared either. 

For his part, Hook did look abashed. However, Harriet wasn’t satisfied with the lack of response, and she wasn’t finished. 

“That never should have been my job.” Harriet’s voice was quieter, but no less firm. “I shouldn’t have had to try and be a mother after mom died. Harry shouldn’t have to try to lose his hand to get your attention. CJ isn’t mom’s reflection, she’s her own person, and she shouldn’t be smothered by you over the memory of a woman she can’t even remember.”

Harry glanced around, seeing his own expression of shock reflected onto his family members at Harriet’s lecture.

“We’re all going to try to do better,” Harriet finished. “ _ You’re _ going to try to do better, dad. Promise us you’re going to do better, or I’m walking out that door and I’m not coming back.”

After a few moments of stunned silence, Hook said: “I promise, kids. I’ll do better. And I’ll be sober when...if you decide to visit, Harriet.”

“Good,” Harriet said, nodding. “Then I’ll visit. And you know, you could leave the Isle. You don’t have to stay.”

Hook shook his head. “No, but I will. I don’t know where I’d go anymore. It’s just better I stay here.”

“Alright. But you have to come visit, at least.”

“Aye, Auradon Prep has family day,” CJ added. “You gotta come to that, at least.” Her father agreed, and she smiled. “So, where are you going to live, Harriet?”

“I’ll be at the academy for a few years, but who knows where I’ll be after that. Wherever they send me, I guess.”

“That’ll be cool,” CJ said, a little enviously. “Getting to travel and see new places. Wish I could do that.”

“Ya can,” Harry pointed out. “No barrier anymore.”

“No,” CJ replied dryly. “But there’s high school.”

She knocked back the rest of her glass, and Harry chuckled. “Aye, there is. Ya know, CJ, Auradon doesn’t much care for underage drinkin’.”

The teenager rolled her eyes, sighing. “So I heard. How are you going to survive school then, huh?”

“I’m not goin’ to Auradon Prep,” Harry said, shaking his head. “Neither is Gil or Uma.”

At that, Hook frowned slightly. “I thought you were.”

Harry rolled his eyes, already knowing where this was going. CJ opened her mouth to protest, clearly sensing it too. Harry spoke before she could. “No, dad, I’m not. But CJ will be fine.”

Harriet nodded. “Harry’s right. CJ can take care of herself.”

“‘Sides,” Harry said, leaning back in his chair. “I know some people who can keep an eye on her, if ya like.”

Before her father could potentially agree, CJ exclaimed: “No! I don’t need to be kept an eye on! I’m not a baby. If any stuffy little prince or princess thinks they can fuck with me, they’ve got another thing coming.”

Harriet was quick to direct the conversation in a new direction, avoiding a potential argument. “So, H, if you’re not going to school, what are you doing?”

“Takin’ a few classes online; some shit about ‘required courses’ I didn’t wanna go back to high school for,” Harry said with a slight eye roll. It wasn’t that he hated his classes, but most of them weren’t that interesting. They filled the time, at least. He didn’t really know what he wants to do with himself now. He paused, thinking about what he really wanted to share. 

Well. It's now or never, he supposed. 

“And I have a boyfriend,” he said, casually as possible. Harriet blinked, clearly surprised. Hook’s face was unreadable, but CJ lit up.

“Oooo,” she cooed, leaning forward on her elbows. “That’s so exciting! Who is it? Do we know him?”

Harry tried to scoff at her eager questions, but found himself smiling a bit despite himself. “Yeah, ya do. I’m datin’ Jay.”

“Jay?” His father said, eyebrows rising. “Jafar’s son? The one that took a fancy to you when you all were kids?”

Harry felt his face heat up slightly. “Did everyone know about that except me?”

At this, Harriet snorted. “Pretty much. It was kinda obvious, if you spent enough time around you all. You were just too busy making goo-goo eyes at Uma.”

Hook laughed raucously, his head tilting back. “Ah, yes, you were quite smitten with that lass. We thought you were still, honestly.”

Harry wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “No. Uma’s the best, but I haven’t felt like that for her in a long time.”

“So, how long have you and Jay been a thing,” Harriet asked, leaning back in her chair. “New?”

To their surprise, Harry shook his head. “Not really. We got back together ‘bout two months ago, but before Jay left the Isle we were...seein’ each other, kinda. For over a year.”

CJ’s eyes went a bit wide. “Oh. So that’s why you were so messed up when they left. I thought you were just...mad or jealous or something.”

Harry’s eyebrows went up a bit, surprised she knew about that. They hadn't seen much of each other back then. None of them had seen much of each other since Harry moved in with Uma. True, he still kept tabs on his sisters, from a distance. But it was a surprise to find out that apparently they’d been doing the same.

Not a bad surprise though, he decided. Especially when Harriet glowered fiercely at her glass of scotch.

“Since you two are back together, I’m assuming you worked things out and I don’t need to kill him.”

Harry scoffed a bit, covering up the warmth in his chest at his big sister’s protective tone. “Aye, please don’t kill my boyfriend. Findin’ a new one would be so much work.”

His father scratched at his jaw with the side of his hook. “Come to think of it...didn’t we see Jay on the way back from Serpent Prep, Calista?”

CJ blinked, eyebrows furrowing. “Oh, yeah, we did. He was heading towards the center of the Isle, by the looks of it. Is he visiting his family too?”

Harry frowned.  _ Jay was here? Why?  _ As far as Harry knew, Jay had been back on the Isle a grand total of once since the barrier fell, the day after with Mal, Evie, and Carlos. Since then, he’d been reluctant to go back. Or at least, reluctant to go back without a specific task to do, something to use as an excuse for why he wasn’t going to see his dad like some of their friends kept urging him to do. Harry himself had obviously been encouraging him to do so. He just didn’t think Jay would go so spontaneously, or that he would go all alone.

“I’m not sure,” Harry said, suddenly feeling antsy. “Maybe I should go find him…”

He was starting to stand, when CJ burst out: “But you just got here!” Harry blinked, pausing. CJ flushed a bit, looking away. “I...we haven’t seen you in ages. If you go, who knows when we’ll see you again.”

Harry glanced between his little sister, and his father and older sister. Neither of them said anything, but their faces were a little too blank, a touch of grimness in their eyes as they stared down at the table. 

“I’ll come back before ya both leave for Auradon,” he promised his sisters, standing. Hesitantly, he reached out to CJ, wrapping his arms lightly around her shoulders from behind. She stood from her chair, turning in Harry’s ams to return the hug. Harry tightened his grip; it was the first time he’d hugged one of his siblings in several years. When she pulled back, Harry could have sworn he saw her brush quickly under her eye.

Harriet stood as well, pulling Harry into a tight hug as soon as CJ stepped back. Harriet had always been taller than him, but hugging her now he found he’d finally passed her, if only by a couple inches. 

“Be safe,” Harriet whispered in his ear, her hand brushing over the hair on the back of his head. “And call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Rie,” Harry returned, just as quietly.

Pulling away, Harry quickly surveyed the kitchen once more. It was so odd to be back here, but it wasn’t all bad. Harry nodded to his family, heading back down the hall to leave. Harry was reaching for the door handle when he heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall, the occasional extra  _ thunk _ of a sword hitting the ground telling him it was his father. 

“Harry, wait a moment,” Hook said, and Harry slowly turned to face him, unsure what was about to happen.

“Aye?” he asked. His father stopped, rubbing the back of his neck with his good hand.

“Just wanted to say...I know I’ve been a shitty father. I’ve always loved you, and your sisters, but I’m terrible at showing it. You were right to be angry with me, and you were right to leave,” the man said, his gruff voice tinged with awkwardness and sincerity. “But I promise, I want to try and be better. Do better. I know it won’t be easy for any of us, but I want you kids in my life. I’m sorry it took you all growing up for me to see that.”

Hook reached into his coat pocket, bringing out a small rectangle of shiny white paper. He handed it to Harry. “I want you to have this.”

Harry took the paper, and upon flipping it over, his breath caught in his throat. On the other side of the glossy white paper was a photograph. He recognized his father, over a decade younger, with his arm around a blonde woman, who held a small child, less than two years old, in her arms. Harry recognized the woman as his mother, foggy as his memories of her were. Standing in front of them was Harriet, no more than seven years old, with Harry hugging her side, probably only four.

“I’ve...never seen this picture before,” Harry murmured, touching the image as carefully as possible. It wasn’t as high-quality as the photos he’d seen in Auradon, and looked like it was taken much longer than about 15 years ago, but to Harry, it was an incredible treasure. It was even in color, muted as they were.

“Your mother wanted to take a family photo for years,” Hook said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. “I kept telling her it was a waste of money, but,” he laughed. “Cordelia got her way in the end. She...she died a couple months after this was taken.”

Harry stared at the image of his mother, trying to conjure all the memories of her that he could. “I don’t remember her very well,” he admitted. “Ya never talk about her.”

“I know, and that’s my fault,” Hook scrubbed a hand over his face. “I kept this picture all to myself, just like I kept my memories of her to myself. I was so focused on my loss I never really thought about what you kids lost. The least I should have done was to preserve her children’s memory of her.” 

Reluctantly, Harry held the picture out to his father. Hook shook his head.

“No, son, you keep that.”

“Wait, really?” Harry asked, aghast.

“Yes, really,” Hook replied. “I’m getting copies made for your sisters, so they can have one too. I never should have kept it. Consider this my first step, to try to start making things right.”

Harry paused, gazing down at the whole, happy family he barely remembered. He’d heard Uma’s mother say once that, before Cordelia Hook died, they were one of the happiest families on the Isle. He’d never believed it, but looking at this photo, he found he did, a little bit.

“Thanks,” Harry said, slipping the picture carefully into his coat. “It...it was good to see ya. I wasn’t sure ya would be okay with me and Jay. Ya are okay with it, right?”

Hook nodded. “Aye. There was a time when maybe I wouldn’t have been. But that was many years ago, when I was young and still thought things like that mattered. But I know the look on your face when you say his name. It’s the same way I felt about your mother.” Hook reached out, putting a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “I wanted to say...I’m happy for you, Harry. And I’m proud of the man you’ve become.”

Harry swallowed, trying to rid himself of the tightness in his throat at hearing the words he’d been craving for so, so long. He took a steadying breath through his nose. 

“Thanks dad,” he said, and his father squeezed his shoulder lightly.

“Now, go make sure that boyfriend of yours isn’t in any trouble,” Hook said, and Harry nodded, slipping out the door and down the path, heading towards the center of the Isle. 

Everything wasn’t fixed; far from it. But it was a start, a very promising start. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied again; there will be one more chapter to this. But then, I'm moving to the last work in the series, I promise lol.


	4. Elsewhere on the Isle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings, lovelies! I didn't die, I just took a couple weeks off for midterms and fall break. It's been a stressful month, y'all, but it's good to be back.
> 
> How I see the Jafar cousins:
> 
> Jay - the Biggest Brother, protective, would die for you, flirts A Lot but mostly just for kicks, acts like a player but is secretly a romantic sap, lowkey kleptomaniac, good with his hands ;] (sorry not sorry)
> 
> Jade - ambitious, gets shit done, “no one helps me in this fucking house”, knows everything, can probably read minds, moderately annoyed by everyone but still takes care of them, likes sharp clothes and antiques, weirdly excellent manners but very capable of being a total heathen
> 
> Also: Why Jade’s mother is NOT Nasira:  
In Disney Descendants, Disney sequels are not considered canon, therefore Nasira, who is from a video game, probably doesn’t exist in this world. If you’d like to imagine her in there, that’s fine, but I prefer to see Jade as being on Jay’s mom’s side. That’s just me though. But yes, Jade’s mother and Jay’s mother are sisters in my version of Descendants.

Jay stood in the alleyway across from his father’s shop, and thought about Harry.

The first time he’d kissed Harry, on the docks of Pirate’s Bay at one in the morning, Jay had thought it was a one-time thing; just a little fun with someone hot once before going their separate ways. But then, a week later, he’d found Harry standing in this very alley, waiting for him. The pirate had smirked, teasing in his accented drawl, and Jay had been hooked **(That’s not supposed to be a pun goddammit but it is)**. Unable to resist, he’d shoved Harry up against the same wall he was presently leaning against, kissing him senseless. From there, Harry had slowly morphed from “one-time fling” to one of the most important people in Jay’s life.

When Harry had left for the Isle that morning, Jay had gone to look at another apartment. He’d been looking for a few weeks now, but every single one seemed wrong. Like they were missing something, but Jay couldn’t figure out what it was. It wasn’t like he’d ever been particularly picky about where he lived; he hadn’t really had that option. But all these apartments he’d seen by campus had seemed...cold. Isolated. Jay couldn’t imagine living in one by himself. Jay, as independent as he could be, _ hated _ being alone. It made him think of a time before Harry, before Evie and Carlos, and before even Mal. Back when the only one looking out for him was him, back when he spent his nights in his father’s cluttered junk shop, lying on rugs beneath displays and hoping nothing would fall and bury him, with no one to pull him out. 

He’d gone to the Isle on a whim, caught in a whirl of frustration and determination. Why should he be afraid to face his father? Why should the memories of his past get to haunt him like this? It was exhausting; he was so fucking tired of it. Maybe Harry was right; maybe confronting it would help. 

However, standing outside the shop, watching Iago screech and pull feathers in the window, he wasn’t sure he could do it. 

Jay huffed, eyes burning holes into the cracked glass of the front door. His father was there; he always was. He barely ever left the shop, and the few times he did, it was on Maleficent’s behest. Jafar was too paranoid to leave his precious stolen items alone, lest someone try to steal them back. As if anyone on the Isle would be foolish enough to try. 

He took a step forward, then paused again, scraping his boot against the ground. Maybe this was a bad idea. He should go home, maybe go get some extra tourney practice in, or do that stupid essay he’d been putting off. 

_ No _ , he argued with himself, kicking the ground. _ Stop being a coward. This is important. _

_ Is it though? _ Another part of Jay replied.

_ Yeah, it is. Harry’s doing it, Evie did it, and so have Uma and Gil. _

_ They’re all on better terms with their parents than I am. Carlos hasn’t! _

_ Carlos hasn’t because Cruella is a dangerous psychopath currently on house arrest! Your dad is a crazy, paranoid bastard, but even he has nothing on Cruella. _

Jay sighed, irritated, as he made another abortive move towards the shop before stopping again. Of all the things Jay had been called in his life, he’d never been called a coward. Still, in this moment, that’s exactly what he felt like. 

Suddenly, Jay’s body went rigid, hearing someone rush at him from behind. His body reacted on age-old instinct, swinging around to catch the first punch thrown at him, but missing the kick aimed at his side. He grunted when a sturdy boot collided with his middle, but stayed standing, hand snapping out to grab his attacker by the throat, slamming them against the alley wall.

He froze, however, when he realized whose throat he was grabbing.

“Jade?” Jay stepped back, releasing his older cousin and shoving his hands in his pockets.

Jade coughed a bit, pushing off the wall. However, she didn’t seem all that phased. Jade was several inches shorter than Jay and about 6 years older, with the same bronzed skin and dark eyes, framed by thick lashes. She was sharply dressed, even more so than usual, in a wine-colored pantsuit with black boots. She brushed off her sleeves and straightened her bright green shayla.

“You’re still covered,” he assured her as she checked the edges of the fabric carefully. “Sorry about that, but why the hell would you sneak up on me like that?”

“Just checking,” she said, grinning a bit. “To make sure all that time in Auradon hadn’t made you soft.”

“Course not,” Jay snorted, offended, leaning back. “Once an Isle kid, always an Isle kid.”

“For better or worse, hm?” Jade replied, raising a neat eyebrow and regarding Jay with too-perceptive brown eyes. Jay squirmed slightly under her assessing gaze. When he was a kid, he’d been convinced Jade could read minds, that her sharp eyes could see in his head and tell what he was thinking. 

“He’s gotten worse,” Jade said, breaking her gaze to look at the shop instead. “Since you left.”

On second thought, Jay was seriously considering that maybe his cousin _ could _ read minds after all.

“How bad?” He asked. His shoulders hunched slightly, not even wanting to know the answer to the question he’d just asked.

Jade frowned, her fingers twitching where they hung at her sides. Jay recognized the nervous habit immediately; it was one they shared. 

“It’s...weird,” she said, slowly. “He’s...I don’t know how to explain it. He’s kind of acting like you never left, like you’ll walk through the door any minute, but sometimes, when I mention you, he says he doesn’t know who I’m talking about. Or he says you’re the wrong age. Last week he mentioned you being 8. I’m not sure if he’s pretending or if his memory is actually that scrambled nowadays.” 

Jay sighed, scrubbing his face with a gloved hand. He kind of wished he could be surprised, but his father’s memory had always been a bit...non-linear. Like he couldn’t quite remember things in the right order. Jay wasn’t sure if it was from being turned into a genie and imprisoned in a lamp, or being imprisoned on the Isle, or if Jafar had always been that way. It was all he and Jade could remember, and Jade’s mother never spent enough time with her brother-in-law (kind of) to notice. 

Still, Jay had never heard of his father’s memory being this jumbled.

“That’s not all,” Jade said grimly. “He won’t leave anymore, not even to get food. I’ve been stocking food for him, or bullying mom into doing it for me. He’s still a fucking bastard, so at least that’s stayed the same, I guess,” she finished dryly. 

“Sorry I haven’t been helping out,” Jay said, and he actually meant it a little, if only for Jade and his aunt’s sake. 

Taking a deep breath, Jay pushed the door open. The hinges squeaked, and the dented bell above the door chimed weakly. The real announcement of someone entering Jafar’s Junk Shop was the piercing screech Iago gave, fixing Jay with beady black eyes. Jay rubbed his hand subconsciously, fingers trailing over all the scars left by the parrot’s powerful beak. 

He glanced around the shop. Beyond the dirty front window, where Iago’s perch stood, the shop was shadowy, even in the daytime, high shelves and cluttered display tables blocking out the light. In the very back of the store, Jay knew there were rickety stairs leading up to Jafar’s bedroom. 

“Hello?” he called into the depths of the shop, walking in the direction of the counter, giving Iago’s perch as wide a berth as he could manage. “Dad?”

No response. Listening carefully, Jay would hear faint scraping sounds coming from a couple shelves over. Following the sound, he found his father rearranging a display of old radios, in dubious working conditions. They scraped along the battered wood table as Jafar moved them, not even seeming to notice Jay was there. 

“Dad? Hey dad...Dad!” Jay exclaimed, and finally Jafar paused, turning to look at him.

“Jay,” his father said briskly, moving around the display. “What did you score?”

Jay rolled his eyes and fought the urge to sigh heavily. “Nothing, Dad, that’s not why I’m here. I wanted-”

Jafar cut him off with a look of disgust. “Nothing? Boy, what are you good for? Filthy thief's fingers and you come back to me with _ nothing _? After all I do for you?”

“You didn’t do shit for me dad,” Jay countered tersely. “You let me sleep here, and fed me until I was like, five. Sometimes. If it wasn’t for Aunt Karimah, I would have starved.”

Jafar waved his words away like they were an irritating fly, grabbing Jay’s shoulder and pushing him roughly towards the door. “Get! Come back when you’ve got--”

“Dad!” Jay cut him off impatiently, shaking off his father’s hand. “You haven’t seen me for over a year. Don’t you remember?”

Jafar stilled, hand falling to his side. His dark eyes narrowed, and his face bent in a scowl. “What are you talking about?”

“I went to Auradon,” Jay said. “With Mal, Evie, and Carlos, over a year ago. We live there now. The barrier went down a couple months ago. You know that, right?”

There was a long pause of silence, before Jafar muttered darkly: “_ Excuses _.”

Without another word to Jay, Jafar wound through the shelves up to the dirty glass-topped case making up the shop’s counter. Muttering intelligibly to himself, Jafar pulled out boxes of different small metal trinkets, from jewelry and watches to keys to gears and screws. Jafar poured one of the boxes out onto the counter, carefully counting and sorting its contents. 

Jay let out a frustrated sound. His dad was infinitely harder to force a conversation out of while he was counting. Jafar was obsessed with counting; he memorized ever item in his shop, counting daily, sometimes even twice, to make sure everything was there, from large televisions or chairs to the smallest buttons and pins. 

“Jade says you refuse to leave the shop,” Jay tried. “What happens when you run out of food upstairs? You’re just going to starve?”

“Jay will bring me supplies,” Jafar replied without looking up. “With what he gets for the shop.”

“Dad, I’m right here! I don’t live on the Isle anymore.” When Jafar made no indication of listening, Jay continued anyway. “I live with Evie right now, but I’m trying to find an apartment close to school. I’m going to college, you know?”

“I’m not sure what I’m going to major in yet, but I’ll figure that out later.” Jay crossed his arms. Talking to his father was like talking to a brick wall. Jay remembered when he was little, maybe 6, there had been a painted portrait of a lady in a red and black gown propped against the back wall. Jay would pretend the lady was his mother, and he would talk to her at night when he couldn’t sleep, telling her about his day and whatever else came to his mind. The lady was a great listener, a permanently kind and attentive smile painted on her unchanging face. 

Talking to her was far more pleasant than talking to his father, and she replied only slightly less than he did. 

“Harry says I’ll probably be happiest if I can do something physical, and work with my hands. Harry’s my boyfriend, by the way. And he’s probably right. For now I’m focusing mainly on Tourney,” Jay said, holding the painting’s image in his mind for a second before pushing it away. “The team is--”

“Team?” Jafar snapped. “What do I always say, boy? There’s no team in I!”

“You’re wrong!” Jay snapped. “Being on a team is great. People have your back, and you have theirs. Everyone works together to get something, instead of backstabbing others to get something for yourself.”

Jafar sneered, shaking his head in disgust. “All that potential, wasted.”

For a moment, Jay was frozen. Then, he saw red. “_ I _wasted my potential?” he shouted, completely furious. “Really? That’s fucking hilarious, coming from a washed-up villain selling stolen shit, considering I’ve graduated school! I have a huge scholarship for playing a sport I love, and the chance to play professionally someday! I have fantastic friends and a boyfriend I love and I’m getting my own apartment and I want to ask him to move in with me!” Jay’s anger cooled, thinking of Harry. It was the first time he’d said it aloud, but he knew in his gut it was true. It was why he was saying no to every single apartment he’d looked at. He didn’t know if Harry liked it, if Harry would want to live there. If it could be a home for both of them. 

Jay shook his head. His voice was icy when he said: “No, dad. I’m not the one who wasted my potential. You are.”

Jafar stared silently for a few moments, and Jay almost thought his father would finally snap out of it, would apologize or even actually _ talk _ to Jay for fucks sake. Would maybe act even a little like a father.

However, after a few moments had elapsed, Jafar turned his attention back to his counting, as if Jay had never spoken at all. Jay grit his teeth, focusing on his anger so he wouldn’t have to feel the burning disappointment in his chest.

“Fine,” he grit out. “Be that way. I have everything I need; I don’t need you.”

Without waiting for a response he knew Jafar wouldn’t give, Jay turned and left the shop, shoving the door open with a bit more force than necessary. 

Jade was waiting for him outside. She took one look at Jay’s face and frowned. ‘Went that badly, huh?”

Jay didn’t reply, picking up a littered bottle from outside the shop and hurling it against the opposite wall. Jade didn’t flinch when the bottle exploded against the brick, a shower of glass shards raining to the ground. She did, however, grab Jay’s arm before he could throw something else, saying: 

“Don’t do that. This place is still enough of a shithole without you getting glass everywhere. What if some kid steps in that?” Jay tried half-heartedly to shake her hand off, to which Jade responded by taking hold of Jay’s other arm too. “Hey, look at me. I’m sorry Jay. Really.”

Jay shrugged with forced carelessness, now that he was chastised out of taking his anger out on the landscape. “Whatever. It’s about what I expected anyway. I’m fine.”

The look Jade was giving him made it clear she didn’t believe that, but she let the matter drop, pulling him into a light hug instead. She tensed in Jay’s arms, staring at something over Jay’s shoulder. Jay turned around to see a familiar face approaching them.

“What do you want, Hook?” Jade asked, eyes narrowing in hostility. 

“Wait, it’s okay,” Jay said, before turning his attention to Harry. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask ya the same,” Harry said, coming to a stop in front of Jay. He was eyeing Jade carefully, clearly hyperware of her eyes on them, but reached out to take Jay’s hand anyway. Despite Jay’s sour mood, the gesture gave him a burst of happiness. “I didn’t think ya would come here.”

“What? You’re one of the ones who’s been wanting me to,” Jay said, puzzled. He may have even been irritated, if he wasn’t feeling so drained all of the sudden. 

“Well I didn’t think ya would go _ today _,” Harry said, then added quietly, flushing slightly: “And I didn’t think ya would go alone.”

Jay smiled a bit, but internally, his stomach turned at the thought of Harry, or anyone, hearing or seeing what had happened. Even Jade’s nonspecific knowledge seemed like too much, and Jay was suddenly glad he went alone. 

“I think I’m missing something here,” Jade said, recapturing their attention. “Which rarely happens.”

“Jade, this is my boyfriend, Harry,” Jay said, turning to introduce Harry to his cousin. He knew they knew of each other, the way everyone on the Isle knows everyone, but was sure they’d never really met. “Harry, this is my cousin Jade.”

Jade, ever formal, stuck out her hand in greeting. Harry took her hand, but instead of shaking he brought her hand up, bowing to place a feather-light kiss on her knuckles. Jade’s lips quirked into a smile, amusement glittering in her dark eyes for a second before smoothing over. 

“Well, I’m glad to see you find someone, Jay,” his cousin said, then paused for a moment, looking slightly hesitant all of the sudden. “I’m also glad you came by today; I’ve been needing to tell you something. I’m...I’m moving. Mom and I are leaving the Isle.”

“Really?” Jay asked. He glanced at Harry, wondering momentarily if his family was leaving as well. He made a note to himself to ask his boyfriend later. Maybe after asking him something...more important. “Moving to Auradon?”

Jade tilted her head, fingers fiddling with a flat metal bracelet she wore around her wrist. “Well, yes and no. We’re moving to Agrabah.”

Jay blinked; her answer wasn’t what he had expected. Agrabah _ was _ a part of the United States of Auradon, the desert land stretching wide beyond the mountains. But that’s…

“Wow, that’s...far,” Jay said, and Jade nodded.

“Yeah, but it’ll be a new start. I’ve always wanted to see it, and Mom never really wanted to leave in the first place. I already have a job lined up and we have a place to stay.” Jade reached out and held Jay’s arm lightly. “That also means we won’t be around to look after your dad, you realize.”

Jay nodded. That had occurred to him, of course it had. “I know, but don’t worry about it,” Jay said, with more confidence that he felt. From the concerned look he received from both his cousin and his boyfriend, his false bravado was not up to it’s usual standards of effectiveness. Or maybe they were both just that good at reading him these days. “I’ll figure it out. I’ll miss you and Aunt Karimah, and _ not _ just because you dealt with that shithead so I didn’t have to.”

Jade gave a small laugh, squeezing Jay’s arm fondly. “I need to go; mom will flay me if I’m late for dinner. I’ll see you around, Jay. And you’ll have to come visit sometime after I move. I know you’ve always wanted to see Agrabah.”

That was true; he had. One of the few times in Jay’s life where his father hadn’t acted like a dick were the times after a good sale day when Jay was little, when his father would tell him stories of the desert country before bed. The stories of shining palaces, the lively bazaars, and the glittering Arabian night sky still floated in his memories, tinged with longing.

“I’ll take you up on that,” Jay said, and Jade smiled.

“Good. You can bring your boyfriend too, if you want. Mom would love to grill him.” Jay groaned at the thought, and Jade laughed. With another squeeze of Jay’s arm and a nod at Harry, Jade made her way in the other direction, elbowing into a ragged warehouse that had been converted into apartments when the Isle was first created. 

“Should I feel threatened by that?” Harry asked once she had gone, a hint of an amused smirk on his lips but something unsure in his eyes. Jade snorted, leaning into his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

“Just a little. Aunt Karimah is a hardass, but she’s not bad. She’d question the hell out of you, but she’d like you, because you’re a headstrong punk. She likes that. You’ll get along like a house on fire, and _ that _ is a truly terrifying thought,” Jay said, and it was Harry’s turn to laugh.

However, Harry’s face sobered a few seconds later. “It didn’t go well, did it?” Jay’s silence and tired posture were answer enough, and Harry sighed, wrapping an arm around Jay’s shoulders. “Come on, love. Let’s go home."

\---- 

“--yeah, that’s right. Aye. Thanks captain.” A snort. “Ya will always be captain to Gil and me. Aye. I will. Bye.”

Jay watched from the corner of his eye as Harry put the phone down on the dresser before moving to where Jay was laying in bed, sprawled on his side, a comic open that he wasn’t reading.

“Uma says not to worry about it, she’ll get your dad entered into the program,” Harry said, the mattress dipping as he sat behind Jay, crossing his legs. “Ya won’t have to do a thing if ya don’t want to, but someone needs to give a statement about his mental state.”

“But he’ll be taken care of?” Jay asked, not looking up from the comic page he’d been staring at for the better part of 5 minutes now. 

“Aye. Uma explains it better than I do, but it’s a rehab program for Isle citizens who need...extra help adjustin’ to their new barrier-free life. Jafar can stay in his shop; a caseworker will come to him. They won’t let him starve or nothin’.”

“That’s good...I guess.” Jay said, his voice a little flat even to his own ears. He didn’t have to look over at Harry to know his boyfriend was staring at him. He waited for Harry to speak, but the pirate was silent. Still, Jay could practically hear him thinking. “What?”

“Nothin’.”

Jay tossed his comic on the floor with a sigh, rolling over to face Harry. “Come on, it’s something. What?”

Harry frowned, glaring lightly at the comforter he was sitting on. “I’m...I just...I’m sorry your dad is a bastard,” Harry muttered. Jay blinked.

“...huh?”

“I was the one pushin’ ya to go see him,” Harry said. “So sorry he was an asshole to ya.”

Jay shook his head. “My dad has always been an asshole. I knew it was coming. And it’s not like you were the only one telling me I should. I think it was only Carlos who wasn’t, and I think he probably just felt like he couldn’t because he wasn’t visiting his mom.”

“Well, Cruella’s a fuckin’ sadistic lunatic,” Harry said, shifting from his stiff position to lean against the headboard, and Jay nodded. “My dad was a distant drunk, but at least he didn’t work me like a slave and lock me in a closet with bear traps.”

“Or raise you with a crippling phobia to control you.” Jay shook his head. “Even my dad looks nice in comparison to Cruella. But that’s not the point. Today wasn’t your fault. I still kind of wish everyone had left it alone, but I dunno, maybe I’ll feel better knowing I at least stood up to him for once. Yeah. And it was good to see Jade again. I’ll miss her.”

Harry paused, running a hand through his already messy hair. “Would ya actually take me to Agrabah with ya?”

Jay pushed himself up on his elbow so he was closer to Harry’s eye level. “Yeah, of course I would. Why wouldn’t I?” Harry shrugged.

“I dunno, I know visitin’ would be really important to ya.”

“So are you, idiot,” Jay said with a smile, kicking Harry’s ankle lightly. Harry kicked back with a smirk. “Plus, I’d like you to know the couple family members of mine I actually like. Speaking of, how did things go with your family?”

Harry nodded slowly. “It went...pretty good. I mean, we’re all still kinda a mess. But...but we’re gonna get there, I think. I’m goin’ back to the house to visit before CJ leaves for Auradon. Ya, uh, ya should come.” 

Jay nodded, grinning. “Sounds fun. I can bribe Harriet to tell me funny stories about little kid Harry.”

Harry groaned, hitting his head against the headboard while Jay laughed. “Ugh, ya wouldn’t even need to bribe her. She’d do if for free; she feeds off of my sufferin’.”

“...Speaking of home,” Jay said, deciding to change gears towards the question needling at his subconscious since he confronted his dad. “I, uh...I finally realized why I can’t pick an apartment.”

“Why’s that?”

Jay sat up enough to look Harry in the eye, definitely not nervous about what he was trying to ask. Nope, definitely not. Not at all. “I didn’t know if _ you’d _ like them or not. If it’d be a place _ you’d _ like to live.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, and Jay could tell immediately that Harry didn’t get it. “Oh. Well, I guess I could come look with ya, if ya need my thoughts, but it’s not like I’m exactly an expert on fine livin’. I could ask Audrey, she’s a fancy lass. Then again, ya aren’t exactly a fancy person so maybe Lonnie would be better, but given the occasion--”

“Harry.” Jay cut his boyfriend off before he could talk himself into a spiral, smiling a bit in amused affection. “Baby. I’m asking you if you want to move with me.”

Jay saw the exact moment the realization hit Harry, his blue eyes widening and his jaw going a bit slack. “Oh.”

Jay quirked an eyebrow, willing his heart to stop beating so damn fast. “Oh?” He repeated. “Is there anything else you’d like to add?”

“Are...are ya sure?” Harry asked, and Jay could hear the hopefulness behind the carefully calm tone. Jay’s chest swam with warmth.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more sure about anything,” Jay said, and Harry beamed, leaning forward to kiss him, pressing their foreheads together. 

“Then yes, I want to move in with ya.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more to go, then this series is completed. Damn, that's wild.
> 
> I made a [Tumblr](https://the-lady-orion.tumblr.com) you can talk to me on, if you're bored.

**Author's Note:**

> This will have one or two more chapters. I'm not quite sure which yet. I'm putting it at 2 for now but that may change, so just be aware.
> 
> See you all next Friday!


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